my points of the game (even though no one gives a shit bout what i think)

1. as hyped as i was for the intros i almost cried the worst intros ive seen in my life, the highlight reel was ok, and i liked how they used cant hold us durring the intros but man! that was so boring and sophisticated wheres the dancing and high fives #dissapointed

2. the first 4 minutes of the game where so tense and it was getting on my nerve..someone shoot like

3. leggo!
augustine was runnin the team pretty well

4. leggo! novak for the threeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

5. LEGGO!
t ross for the three and that gentlemen is how you end a quarter

6. amir got some good points just for runnin the floor

7. third quarter everyone forgets how to shoot and its digging time

8. rudy gay shows every single raps fan why we pay him the big buck
9. amir for the three and my heart stops pumping

bold - Do you really?? I'm playing.....You don't have to answer.....We know where you stand. If the Raptors play really well moving forward, you can kiss your wish to blow up this team goodbye! LOL

It's just one game....at least they won it unlike last year. You can certainly see the difference of having Andrea Bargnani vs Tyler Hansborough! I love it!

Yeah, I really do hope they play well. Whether they stick with this group or make trades, playing well is going to ensure maximum success for whatever path they take.

I don't believe the record will mean anything. I think the quality of play is going to be extremely important as well as the development. Thus far, after one whole game, the quality is garbage and the development was non-existent. This is the same team as last year.

I don't think MU is going to be happy with just making the playoffs; actually I believe his quote was *paraphrased* "I'm not happy to make the playoffs. Half the league makes the playoffs. Making the playoffs is easy."

No one has even mentioned the Raptors barely beat the C's last night without their best player and top 5 PG in the league. There is nothing to feel good about last night from my perspective except Hansbrough. Also the coach was in his first NBA game and he schooled Casey.

Good lord! If I didn't know better, I'd think many people here just started watching the NBA 2 days ago. This isn't high school ball where the best team wins every day. Every single player in the NBA is capable of having great games, and every single player is capable of having bad games. No one game is the least indicative of how the season is going to play out, even more so the first few games of the year.

Yes, the Raps didn't come near playing up to their potential. They know it too. Listen to the interviews. Taking into consideration it's game #1 of 82, I look at it this way if nothing else tweaks your memory of seasons past. There are 3 teams that are in tank mode more than anybody else:
Phoenix: never trailed and beat the Blazers handily
Philly: I don't care that Miami didn't have Wade (they shouldn't need him), but Sixers beat the Heat
Boston: the one extreme bottom feeder that didn't win, despite apparently having out-coached and outplayed their opponents. Weird that.

Yes, there's lots to criticize about ONE game. The Raptors didn't play well, but found a way to win, unlike Portland, Miami, Clippers (losing to 2nd stringers. Was Rivers out-coached?), Brooklyn vs Cavs. Add OKC squeaking out a win vs the Jazz, Sac beating Denver, and does anyone truly think any of these are signs of the season to come? Seriously, it's ONE game at the very start of the season. Good lord!

You should copy and paste this post after every single game.

The hardcore are here p00ka. Every little thing is scrutinized and analyzed then debated and argued then rehashed again and again. There are no casual fans here. This is what we do.

One thing that I saw different in comparison to last season, is this current team knows where to go - give the ball to Rudy, DeMar, etc. Last season, Lowry would run P-&-R's, DeMar would come off screens, Andrea would be given the ball top of the key, for Christ's sake, Alan Anderson would be run in Iso's...

This game now has that consistent 4th quarter option, which is certainly a big help when coming down the stretch of close games - something this team OBVIOUSLY lacked in the beginning of the season.

(2)The hardcore are here p00ka. Every little thing is scrutinized and analyzed then debated and argued then rehashed again and again. There are no casual fans here. This is what we do.[/B]

1 over reaction down.
81 to go.

Bold 1: Not sure what to think of that comment. A tad cryptic and I'm not into puzzles at the moment. I suspect you're misreading, perhaps by choice, what I meant by a single phrase. In any case, whatever I say about this game alone has absolutely nothing to do with any other game this season, or in history, except in relation to extrapolations from other season opening games.

Bold 2: What's hardcore and what's casual to you? Is it one or the other, black/white? People who use the term "hardcore" seem to see it that way, and often seem to use it to elevate themselves over whatever their version of "casual" is. Sorry, the terms, or perhaps the ways there used, bug me. But what's "hardcore" and what's "casual"?

My definitions are likely different than yours, and I'd guess there would be at least half a dozen other definitions from folks here if asked. Rather than use myself as an example, take someone like "lilmamba". She not only doesn't scrutinize and rehash again and again, but I would guess pays scant attention to any stat other than "Ws" and Ls", yet lives and breaths this team. Is she a "casual" fan? I'd call her effing hardcore, but she's not the slightest part of this ultra-scrutinizing group you speak of. ((( Note to self: get head checked once the ringing of Frank Zappa's The Central Scrutinizer stops, lol)))

Look, whatever you call yourselves, I didn't criticize your scrutinizing, analyzing, debating, arguing, rehashing over and over again. I commented upon the results/conclusions some are arriving at from all this joyful activity. No matter how much you analyze 2 + 2, if you say it equals 3, it's not a bad thing if someone says you might be misguided.

Re watched the game. Augustin looked good. I think the rotation is officially Landry, Hansbrough, Augustin and Ross / Novak. I think that a good rotation there. I feel like this Boston team will be tough game for the Raps all year. Starting 3 legit perimeter defender in Bradley, Wallace and Green. I said it earlier this team will struggle to score if you can have two good perimeter defenders in your starting line up.

Today should be better match up with Korver and Carroll starting on the wings. DeRozan should have his way with Korver. I would give Rudy the edge over Carroll as well.

If you wanted to know why so many NBA obsessives dismiss the Toronto Raptors’ chances for something approaching relevance, Wednesday night’s fourth quarter was a pretty good primer.

To go all in on basketball jargon, the ball stuck. It stuck to Kyle Lowry. It stuck to Rudy Gay. It stuck to DeMar DeRozan. That is to say, the ball did not move, and the Raptors’ 93-87 over the putrid Boston Celtics was closer than it should have been because of it.

“We had too much [individual play], too many one-handed passes, too many one-on-ones,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. “Good defensive teams are going to shut that out. We’ve got to get that ball moving. I thought we were doing a good job. For whatever reason, in the fourth quarter, we got standing in isolation. Rudy made some tough shots. That’s who he is. But against the good teams and to get where we want to go, we’ve got to get some ball movement, some pass-pass combinations.”

Indeed, 15 assists on 38 baskets overall is pretty poor stuff for lovers of frenetic basketball. They had just two assists in the entire fourth quarter.

Proud of the guys working together. Typical Raptor 3rd quarter where they make it unnecessarily close for no reason, but they got it done. Love the bench contribution. I still wanna see more on the defenseive end. This is your chance Casey. That's why we brought you in.